Now that the worst is over, I can accurately report what has been bringing me here since the end of last month. In preparation for the last weekend of June, I trimmed my pubes and shaved my balls, as I have been ever since I was 18. The next day I felt an itch and on checking what the cause was, couldn't see anything unusual. The following day - wham! Much more than a pimple had developed. I tried various topical ointments and salves, but nothing worked. Clearly, it was an infection gone from bad to worse. The pain was unbearable, so I decided to go to a local walk-in clinic on May 30, but it was closed for the long weekend. I then walked over to St. Paul's hospital, however walked out after less than 2 minutes of being there because the notorious cabal of junkies and mentally-challenged in the reception area of the emergency room were too much to bear. With the help of a friend via sms, I tried 3 other walk-in clinics. All were closed. Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) turned out to be the best place after all. And it's roughly the sam distance from my place as St. Paul's. It did take a long time to be seen initially after waiting at the triage desk for an hour, being admitted and then waiting again for a doctor to see me. But since then, I have consistently been able to make their requested follow-up visits in a timely manner, thanks in great part to their Fast Track procedure. I've been in about 7 times now to have the dressing changed and the infection monitored. It has almost completely gone away. I can't commend the staff, nurses and doctors enough for all their professionalism. The number of people in the emergency reception area varied day to day. Some times of day it looked like a scene out of ER after an MVA. At others, it was as calm as a rural clinic. Without a doubt, I'll only ever go there before I even think of St. Paul's.

To continue with the story of the infection, I can only say this about shaving: use an antibacterial soap, salve or ointment afterwards!